In the remarkable scarcity of hardy fruits which prevailed the past season, I have found the culture of the grape under glass to possess unusual interest, and have devoted to it much more attention than 1 have heretofore done, for which I have been rewarded in a very satisfactory manner, by a better crop of fruit than my vines have ever before produced.

Having never been an adherent of the "slaughter-house system" of making borders, mine is chiefly composed of vegetable mould, with a moderate admixture of 6table manure, bones etc. In this my vines make fine wood - sufficiently large, round, firm, and short-jointed.

My practice is, to ventilate freely throughout the season, (except, of course, when the outside temperature is too low,) and in this respect differ from some of my neighbors, who implicitly follow Chorlton's directions (which doubtless answer perfectly well for his latitude,) and keep their grapes upon a short allowance of air until late in the season. The consequence is, that their vines grow late, fail to mature their wood perfectly, and are in no condition to withstand the intense cold to which they are occasionally subjected. Indeed, in some houses the vines have been killed to the ground. My vines ripen their wood early, and are apparently not injured by the cold air in the slightest degree, although my vinery, is not one of the warmest, being far from air tight.

My crop of last year suffered much injury in consequence of my having been prevented, by illness, from thinning the berries at the proper time. Many of them necessarily ripened imperfectly, and failed to acquire their proper size and form. A few days of cold rain occurred just before all the sorts were fully colored, and produced cracking and rotting to such an extent that very many of the bunches were ruined. In view of this, I have this season thinned with severity both bunches and berries, for which I was well repaid by the superior size and beauty, as well as higher quality of the fruit, although the weight of the bunches was somewhat reduced. Under this treatment, the Grizzly Frontignan in particular proved much finer than usual. I had considered it rather a small grape, but some of the berries measured fully 7/8 inch in diameter, and the peculiar color and flavor were well developed.

Regarding the Chassclas Musque I have a retraction to make, in which I take great satisfaction. I some time since remarked that I could not grow it without its cracking. This I revoke, as it has this season produced both bunches and berries of good size, and so very few of the latter cracked, that their removal rarely caused any perceptible vacancy. I am not aware of having practised any peculiar mode of treatment which could have produced this result, and am inclined to attribute it to the greater prevalence of warm and dry weather this season. An improvement was also visible in the Black St. Peter's, although it has not yet become one of my favor--ite varieties.

With the White Muscat of Alexandria my success was so decided as to excite considerable remark among those of my grape growing friends who visited me. My bunches, instead of being loose, irregular and straggling, as formerly, were of fine size and form, the berries well swelled, and so thickly set that in several instances a free use of the scissors was requisite to their proper dcvelopcmcnt- Chassclas de Foiltainbleau and White Frontignan were very good, but Black, and Wilmot's Black Hamburghs, did not color quite so perfectly as last season, from what cause I am unable to determine.

My vinery has been quite exempt from mildew for two years past, I having taken the precaution of placing in it, soon after the fruit set, two or three shallow boxes, each containing sufficient sulphur to cover the bottom to the depth of half an inch or more. This being occasionally stirred, to preserve its friability, proved a perfect preventive, and is not only a far neater, but much more economical method of using it than that of strewing it about the house, as it loses no appreciable part of its bulk during the season.

I have been pruning my vines, for the past year, upon the plan described by Mr. Chorlton as the "double spur system," which pleases me much. I prefer it in many respects to the ordinary "close spur" method, and it appears to me much more in accordance with reason than the latter plan of reducing the vine to "walking-stick" dimensions at each pruning.

When building my vinery, some years since, I was strongly advised by an experienced grape grower to furnish it with the so-called "anchor" trellis, as by far the best in use. This I now regret having done, for the curved form of the supporting irons and the near proximity of the parallel vines render it extremely difficult to prevent the spurs from coming in contact with the glass, and the foliage being consequently burned. Of this there is of course much less liability when the training wires arc more widely separated and at equal distances from the roof, as I should arrange them upon any future occasion.

I am of opinion that considerable benefit was derived from a mulch of partially cured hay with which my outside border was covered during all the driest part of the season. Being applied soon after a rain, it preserved such a degree of moisture in the border, that I did not find it necessary to apply water outside during the remainder of the season, notwithstanding the drought that at times prevailed.

I last year mulched the inside border, but do not think it advantageous, unless during the first season, and before there is sufficient foliage to shade the soil.

With the exception of a few colonies of vine-fretters, which were extirpated with little labor, and an irruption of large, hairy caterpillars, which gave me some trouble, I have been annoyed by few insects. A few wandering grasshoppers, and a solitary mealy-bug, I think, comprise the remainder of the list of depredators.

I have received your-number containing such a very flattering allusion to my views, by my friend Professor Coppock, that I cannot allow myself to appropriate it in silence. My house is very far from being "the finest of that form (the curvilinear) put.up here." If the Professor had said "the first," as I suspect he intended, it would have been in accordance with the fact. As the eminence of "a model of skill" in grape growing is not to be attained in five year3, the mention of the fact that such is the extent of my experience, will be a sufficient disclaimer of the fitness of the application suggested by Mr. Coppock.

I am under obligations to Mr. J. F. Allen, for the particularity with which he has replied to my inquiries.